Saturday, April 25, 2015

What I worked on in Wynn Handman's class


Monologues

Spoon River Anthology, by Edgar Lee Masters

  • Elsa Wertmann
  • Lydia Humphrey
  • The Village Atheist
  • Robert Davidson (who I called Roberta)
  • John Horace Burleson (who I called Joan Hortense)
  • Zilpha Marsh

Bad Habits, by Terrence McNally

  • Dolly's "I hate tropical fish..."

All My Sons, by Arthur Miller

  • Kate Keller's dream in Act I
Harry Potter: Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
  • excerpt from the monologue of Lord Voldemort (after kidnapping Harry from the Tri-wizard tournament)
Electra by Sophocles, David Greene (translator)
  • Clytemnestra's monologue to Electra about why she killed her husband
Song exercises:
  • Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier
  • Mordred's Lullaby 


Roles

Kate Keller in All My Sons by Arthur Miller

Notes

Here is a list of things I took away from this class


  • Take it slow
  • Read multiple times
  • Keep finding more in the text
  • Live with the role, even when you're not on stage
  • Acting involves going into upsetting places, if you don't want to go there, you don't belong in this profession
  • Get the reality of the part before adding voices and accents
  • The role builds from inside out
  • Improv character interview to get into the role.
  • Actually see what you're talking about. Your eyes should show that.
  • Wearing a shawl will keep you from bobbing your head
  • A prop or music can help you get into a role
  • A posture can help you get into a role
  • If you're talking to someone in rehearsing a monologue, have someone sit there so you can look at them
  • The spoon river anthology is a good source of monologues
  • I have a tendency to straighten my back to get into a role. That's distracting. I've got to do that before the lights go up
  • The stage directions in a screen play are often not written by the playwright. They're typically written by the book publisher, to help sell books. Don't feel badly about ignoring them
  • During rehearsal, it's o.k. to start over if you make a mistake
  • He's patient about getting off book, as he wants to see you get into character more
  • Hand gestures are often distracting. Use them sparingly.
  • What an actor looks like when "in" the role as opposed to without reality.

****

from another student

Nutrition from Wynn Handman
Posted by Jane Gennaro on Wednesday, April 15, 2020


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